How Do You Know When Your Company is Ready for Influencer Marketing?

You’ve heard all the great stuff there about influencer marketing and now you’re wondering, “are we ready?” Here are a few indicators that your brand is ready to take the leap and jump into the deep end of the marketing pool.

Your Own Audience Is Giving You Crickets

Social media is an essential business practice, there’s no way around it. Even though you’re sharing relevant content and nurturing your leads, it’s not always enough. If your target audience is stagnated or your engagement is down, it’s time to call for backup.

A professional social media influencer instantly exposes your brand to thousands of followers who may not know you exist. Not every one of their followers will turn into a new follower for you, but there is often a significant amount of audience crossover during and after a campaign.

You Have the Budget for Influencer Marketing

A decent budget is required in order to carry out an effective influencer marketing campaign. Whether you hire an agency, a consultant, or you’re handling it in-house, your standard marketing budget may not have the bandwidth. The best course of action is to allocate funds specifically for influencer marketing so your standard marketing efforts don’t suffer.?

Hiring a freelance influencer is the low-budget option, with a consultant being slightly higher and operating as a middleman who handles negotiations. A good influencer marketing agency will handle all transactions, strategy, marketing, creativity, conversion metrics, and collaboration for you, handing over the most comprehensive campaign possible.?

They all require a budget, some more than others. If you’re just after the cheapest influencer, your ROI will suffer. With a limited budget, you can still play in a smaller pool as long as you have the right tools.?

You Already Know Your Niche Influencers

Social media influencers don’t just work in fashion, beauty, travel, and fitness. If you have a niche, there’s an influencer you can leverage. Staying involved and relevant in online communities will help you make valuable connections with potential industry partners.?

Even an influencer with a seemingly small following can reach beyond their metrics with a good strategy and captivating content. Engagement is the real KPI for an influencer campaign. A smaller audience is more likely to see all of that influencer’s content, rather than only what the algorithm shows.

You Need to Stand Out From the Competition

You’re a little biased, even if you don’t want to admit it. Chances are, your product or service may not be all that exclusive. You may have a unique element, usage, or spin, but no matter how you slice it, you have competition.

If the niche you operate in faces a problem your competitors can also solve, it’s time to level up your approach and find other ways to stand out. Turning yourself into the budget option will do more to hurt your reputation and bottom line than help it.?

So what can you do? By collaborating with an influencer, you will immediately create a distinction between your offer and that of the competition. A small or local social media post can be enough to begin garnering the trust of more buyers.?

You can continue to put out relevant content that builds a relationship with your target customer, but an influencer can help you do that faster, better, and with a greater reach.?

You Need to Increase Trust

Depending on your brand’s function, market, and price point, it may take longer for you to earn the trust of your customers. Meaning your sales cycle takes longer and you must nurture and retarget your leads into buyers over a longer period of time.?

Even then, this doesn’t mean they will take your word for it. Your data and case studies will work for some but may not have the same impact as social word-of-mouth. This is what influencer marketing does for your brand.??

They’re already considered trusted sources in your niche. At their recommendation, the masses are ready to be at least half-sold before they ever visit your website. True influencers need to maintain a solid level of trust with their audience or they’re out of a job.?

This means true, professional influencers don’t put their name behind products and brands they don’t trust themselves. Their stamp of approval could be your key to overcoming the like-know-trust trifecta.?

You're Ready for Influencer Marketing Because You’re Here

You’re already digging into creative and budgetary needs, influencer marketing agencies, and how an influencer campaign can get you a better ROI. You’re here. It’s time to get influential.